


Cuffing Season

by radioactivesaltghoul



Series: reylo-oriented polyamory [12]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (as implied by the "mutual pining" tag), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Ben Solo, Bisexual Rey (Star Wars), Bisexual Rose Tico, Cuffing season, Huddling For Warmth, Mild Angst, Multi, Mutual Pining, No Pregnancy, OT3, Polyamory, Safe to Read if You're Triggered by Pregnancy, Threesome - F/F/M, i wrote this of course everyone's bi, why mess around with tinder when you could mess around with your best friends instead?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28364586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioactivesaltghoul/pseuds/radioactivesaltghoul
Summary: “You’re looking for someone to bring as your date for holiday functions and someone to snuggle with?” Rose asks.“Sex is a bonus, but it’s not a necessity,” Rey replies.“It doesn’t sound so bad when you put it like that,” Ben admits. “Endless rounds of ‘why are you still single’ are exhausting.”Rose rolls her eyes. She loves her best friends, but there’s a better solution to this. And, okay, so maybe a little bit of her motivation is that she’s attracted to both of them, but she can ignore that. According to the internet, cuffing season partners are temporary, and she doesn’t intend to let these friendships die. “If it’s not a sex thing, we can be that for each other,” she says, sounding more certain that she feels. “It’s easier than trawling tinder, right?”
Relationships: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo/Rose Tico, Rey/Rose Tico
Series: reylo-oriented polyamory [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077308
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30
Collections: Queerly Beloved Reylo Fics, Reylo After Dark's Nightmare Before Christmas Exchange 2020





	Cuffing Season

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vulpines](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vulpines/gifts).



> like i was going to pass up an opportunity to write reyroselo for you! i hope you like it; it was an adorable prompt 💕

Rose isn’t surprised to see Rey and Ben sitting together on the couch when she gets home after work. “Is this guy for real?” Rey asks Ben, waving her phone in his face.

He lives in the apartment below theirs, but after developing a friendship through delivery mixups, he’s become a mainstay in their apartment. “He was hot until you scrolled to the fish photo,” he replies, grimacing. “I don’t know why you bother with these apps.”

“Please tell me you’re not on Tinder again,” Rose says, groaning as she flops down on the couch on Rey’s other side.

“She’s on Tinder again,” Ben confirms.

“I need to find a cuffing season person,” Rey says, swiping left.

“What’s cuffing season?” Rose asks.

Ben says, “It’s a fad,” at the same time that Rey claims it’s a real thing.

“Google it,” she says to both of them.

Rose and Ben exchange a skeptical look, then she pulls out her phone and looks up “cuffing season” while Rey and Ben debate the usefulness of Tinder. “You’re looking for someone to bring as your date for holiday functions and someone to snuggle with?” she asks.

“Sex is a bonus, but it’s not a necessity,” Rey replies.

“It doesn’t sound so bad when you put it like that,” Ben admits. “Endless rounds of ‘why are you still single’ are exhausting.”

Rose rolls her eyes. She loves her best friends, but there’s a better solution to this. And, okay, so maybe a little bit of her motivation is that she’s attracted to both of them, but she can ignore that. According to the internet, cuffing season partners are temporary, and she doesn’t intend to let these friendships die. “If it’s not a sex thing, we can be that for each other,” she says, sounding more certain that she feels. “It’s easier than trawling Tinder, right?”

If she wasn’t so anxious about the answer, she’d laugh at the way Rey and Ben stare at her, then each other, then her again. “Think about it,” Rose says, pressing on. “We spend plenty of time sprawled out on the couch together. That takes care of the snuggling. And then we’ll be each others’ dates to any holiday gatherings we have to go to.”

Rey is the first one to respond. “That’s not a bad idea,” she says as she sets her phone face-down on the coffee table. “Tinder is awful, and there’s no one I trust more than you two. Like I said, the sex is a bonus, but I’d rather spend my time with you than some rando who thinks that a photo with a fish is a good idea for a dating profile.”

Ben is openly gawking at them now. It’s cute, the way his cheeks and ears are now bright red. “Sure,” he says, sounding a little strangled. “Why not.”

“Okay,” Rose says, hoping they can’t see how hard her heart is beating at the thought of spending the winter curled up by their sides. “So how should this work?”

* * *

Rey would never admit it to Rose or Ben, but she’s glad Rose suggested they be cuffing season buddies. Truth be told, she’d love for it to turn into a sex thing, too. She thinks their friendship is strong enough to survive a little “huddling for warmth” sex, but she’s not going to suggest it unless they seem open to it. And they _both_ have to be open to it; she doesn’t want to third-wheel either of them.

Whether or not it turns into a threesome is completely optional, of course. So what if she’s fantasized about that on more than a few occasions? She’d never pressure them into it, no matter how badly she wants to have both of them at the same time.

They hammer out the details over dinner, and the evening ends with the three of them curled up together on the couch. Rose was right; the couch is barely big enough for three normal-sized people, and Ben is massive (something Rey and Rose discussed early on, before they were friends; the consensus was a pseudo casual agreement that they both liked that about him), so their normal configuration isn’t all that far off from blatantly snuggling together. Ben has his arm around Rose’s shoulders as she leans into him, and Rey is sitting on her lap with her legs slung across Ben’s. She can feel his fingers brush her shoulder when she adjusts her position, leaning further into Rose’s warmth. It’s not much contact, but it makes her shiver anyway.

Is it any wonder she barely remembers what they’re watching that night? It’s distracting to be close enough to smell Rose’s shampoo, something vaguely floral that makes Rey’s toes curl. It’s nearly impossible to resist the urge to lean in and brush her lips across Rose’s neck, tugging Rose’s hair out of the messy bun she’s wearing.

Nor can she ignore Ben, whose fingers are playing with her hair so gently that she wonders if he even realizes he’s doing it. His thighs are thick and muscular and perfect for riding, were she to slip off of Rose’s lap and—

 _Nope,_ she tells herself. Not yet, anyway. Maybe she’ll broach the topic if she’s feeling braver once they’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks.

“What are your plans for next week?” Ben rumbles. Rey wonders if Rose can feel the vibrations in his chest. When they inform Ben that they have no plans, he adds, “Normally I’d skip the Thanksgiving dinner my parents are hosting, but if you’re interested, we can go together.”

Ben doesn’t have a great relationship with his parents, which makes Rey wonder why he’s offering. “I’d love to go,” she says, feeling relieved when Rose echoes her statement. Ben seems to relax as well, sinking further into the couch.

Rey tries and fails not to read too much into it.

* * *

Han and Leia are, predictably, thrilled that Ben shows up to Thanksgiving dinner with Rey and Rose in tow. Inviting them was a spur-of-the-moment decision influenced by how comfortable it was to curl up on the couch with them; seeing the expressions on their faces as they’re introduced to Luke, Lando, and Amilyn reassures him that it was a good decision.

Dinner goes surprisingly well, and Leia sends them home with plenty of leftovers. “Thank you for inviting us,” Rey says. “I know you and your parents—”

“They loved you,” he interrupts. “Both of you. Don’t be surprised if you start getting invitations to family dinners as well.” He can’t see their expressions because he’s sitting in the backseat, but he thinks he sees both of them blush. Maybe.

He can’t quite put his finger on why that makes him so happy. It’s probably because they’re his closest friends, so their happiness is important to him.

Yeah, that must be it. The fact that he’s lowkey in love with both of them has nothing to do with it.

They linger on the stairwell in their apartment building. It’s clear that they aren’t quite ready to say good-bye to Ben for the evening, but he can’t figure out a good excuse to continue the conversation before one of his neighbors interrupts them trying to get to her apartment. “See you later, I guess,” Rose says. Rey’s gaze lingers on him for a heartbeat longer, then she and Rose disappear up to the next floor.

None of them have to work on Black Friday, so they spend the day together, alternating between three different shows since they can’t agree on what they want to marathon. Late in the day, Rey does something unexpected.

Rose and Ben are sitting on the couch together when Rey stands up to grab some popcorn from the kitchen. She returns while it’s popping, and now Rose and Ben leaning away from each other after Ben insults Rose’s favorite character, laughing the whole time. “I swear,” Rey says as she stands behind the couch, leaning over them. “I can’t take you two anywhere.” She kisses Rose on the cheek, then Ben, then walks back into the kitchen like nothing’s changed.

“That just happened,” Rose whispers, leaning back towards him. “Right?”

“Unless we shared a hallucination,” he replies, mind spinning. They’d agreed it was a non-sexual thing, which was a relief for him, because he really doesn’t need the complication of acknowledging that he—

He nothing. It’s fine. Nothing has to change.

And if he falls asleep wondering what it would be like to get something less chaste than a peck on the cheek from Rey or Rose, well.

Nothing has to change.

* * *

Rose doesn’t think she’s imagining the tension that arises after Rey’s weird behavior with the kisses. None of them acknowledge it—at least, not while she’s within earshot—but snuggling on the couch feels less relaxed than before.

They have plans to attend Finn and Poe’s New Years Eve party, but a storm rolls in that morning and it quickly becomes apparent that they’re going to be snowed in. _Just come here and we’ll celebrate together,_ Rey says in their group chat. _No point in sulking because the weather sucks._

 _The Twilight Zone_ marathon plays on the tv as the storm rages outside; soon it’s cold enough that Rose has overcome her discomfort with their current tension to huddle on the couch with Rey and Ben. “Why is it so cold in here?” Rey asks, half-laying in Ben’s lap.

“Check the windows,” Rose murmurs, curling into Ben’s warmth as well.

“I would if you two weren’t in the way,” Ben grumbles, but he makes no move to dislodge them.

“We paid the electric bill,” Rey says. “They can’t have turned off our heat because of that.”

“Think something broke?”

“What could have broken?”

“It’s an old building,” Ben interrupts. “If something’s wrong with the heater in here, we can move this downstairs to my place.”

That’s new. They never hang out at Ben’s place. “S-sure,” Rose says, prepared to blame the cold for the stammer and not the nerves she’s feeling at this change to their routine.

As far as they can tell, there’s nothing wrong with the windows, but the heater isn’t working properly. They get in touch with building management, but since it’s a holiday during a snowstorm, there isn’t much they can do at the moment. “Come on,” Ben says, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Let’s hope my apartment is warmer than this.”

It’s unclear if he means this as a “spend the night with me” situation or not. Rose probably shouldn’t want it as badly as she does, but she and Rey follow Ben downstairs without commenting on it.

“Maybe it’s only our unit,” Rey says once Ben is closing the front door behind them. “I hope it’s temporary.”

“I hope the pipes don’t freeze,” Rose adds.

“We can hang out down here until it’s fixed,” Ben says. Rose knows him well enough by now to see that he’s trying to play it cool, which makes her wonder if she’s not the only one struck by the new tension between the three of them. “I can take the couch if you need to spend the night here.”

“We’re not kicking you out of your own bed.” Rey says it like she doesn’t realize she’s suggesting the three of them sleep in it together, but maybe that thought occurs to her after the words are out of her mouth, because she flushes. “Come on. We’ll miss the rest of the episode.” The sudden shift from thought of Ben’s bed to _The Twilight Zone_ is jarring, but Rose isn’t going to comment on it. It’s probably for the best that she stop thinking about Ben’s bed and everything the three of them could be doing in it.

Being in Ben’s apartment feels off-kilter. They’ve only ever hung out upstairs; Rose can count on one hand the number of times she’s been in here before. It’s neater than Rey and Rose’s place, but it looks a little less lived-in. Maybe that’s a side effect of spending so much of his free time with them. His living room setup is similar to Rey and Rose’s, although his couch is nicer than their Craigslist find. It’s bigger, too, something that Rose finds disappointing. She’d thought that having more space on the couch would ease the tension; if anything, it heightens it. It’s harder to find an excuse to snuggle with them when there’s actually enough space for the three of them to fit side by side.

“Shit,” he says when there’s only five minutes til midnight. “We don’t have any champagne.”

Rose shrugs. “Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.” This earns a laugh from her friends; it makes her heart skip a beat.

“There’s another New Years tradition that we don’t need anything for,” Rey says. She’s looking down at her lap like she’s unconcerned with their reaction, but Rose knows her too well to be fooled.

“What tradition?” Ben asks warily.

That’s definitely a blush on Rey’s cheeks. “Kissing,” she mumbles.

Holy shit. Is Rose’s attraction to Rey actually reciprocated? Or is this more about Ben? Rose glances at him to see his reaction. He’s so gobsmacked that she’d probably find it funny if her stomach weren’t so full of butterflies. “Right,” Rose manages to croak. “That is a tradition.”

“Are you suggesting…” Ben asks, his gaze flickering between them. “How the hell do you kiss two people at once?”

Rose can’t help it. She lets out a nervous laugh. “I bet it would take a lot of coordination.”

Neither Ben nor Rey respond to that immediately. They’re all waiting for someone else to make the next move, which makes Rose wonder if the whole cuffing season thing has gotten into Rey’s and Ben’s minds as well.

Rey clears her throat. “Only one way to find out,” she says lightly. “And there’s only two minutes left.”

There are so many ways this could go wrong, but with barely two minutes left until the new year starts, this feels like the right way to ring it in. “New year,” Rose breathes, leaning over Ben just enough to bring her face closer to his and Rey’s. “New—”

Rey, apparently, can’t wait any longer for the new year to start, because she closes the gap between Rose and herself. It’s not as chaste as the cheek kisses she gave Rose and Ben—there’s a hunger in the kiss that makes Rose swoon. She nips Rose’s lip before pulling away and turning to Ben, who’s staring at them wide-eyed.

“What—” he says, but Rey kisses him before he can finish the question, giving Rose the opportunity to watch. One of Ben’s hands is resting on Rey’s cheek, but the other is now slung around Rose’s waist, holding her in place. She could break free of his grip if she wanted to, but it’s comforting, knowing that he doesn’t want to let her go.

There’s a brief moment of hesitation when Rey pulls away from Ben, flashing Rose an expectant look. Before she can think too hard about it, Rose leans in to kiss Ben.

It’s different from kissing Rey, but no less exhilarating. They linger just long enough to make it clear that neither of them is saying no to this, or to anything that’s about to happen.

“So,” Rey says when Rose finally pulls away from Ben. “About cuffing season not necessarily being a sexual thing. Do you want to revisit that?”

One of Rose’s hands is resting on Ben’s where he’s holding her waist, her fingers twined through his to keep him there. _When did that happen?_ she wonders. She doesn’t want to let him go, so she uses her free hand to tuck a loose strand of Rey’s hair behind her ear. “Absolutely,” she says, then she and Rey turn to look at Ben.

“I’m not dreaming, am I?” he asks.

Rey giggles. Actually _giggles._ It’s adorable. “Definitely not,” Rose says. “We’re good friends. That doesn’t have to change, does it?”

Ben smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course not,” he replies. “That’s how cuffing season works, isn’t it?”

“Right,” Rey says. “Should we—?”

It’s obvious what she’s referring to, but the word _threesome_ is stuck in Rose’s throat as well. “I would imagine your bed has more space,” she says to Ben.

He lets out a shaky laugh. “You would be correct.”

* * *

Ben could almost believe he’s in an episode of _The Twilight Zone_ as he’s pulled down onto his bed by Rey and Rose in between kisses. He can’t figure out how the hell they went from a snowed-in TV marathon to having both Rey and Rose in his bed, but he’s not going to question it. Sure, he’d had a few—okay, a lot more than a few—thoughts about what could happen if they took their cuffing season agreement into sexual territory, but he hadn’t actually thought it would go anywhere.

“I knew he’d be ripped,” Rey mock-whispers to Rose as they work to undress Ben.

He pauses. “You’ve thought about this before?”

“Maybe,” she says in a tone that clearly means _Yes, definitely_.

“You’re both hot,” Rose says, running her hands over his chest and stomach. She’s so much shorter than him that it’s almost comical, but he can’t wait to see what she looks like riding his cock.

Rey too, for that matter. He’s not sure which he wants more.

None of them has had a threesome before, so there’s a bit of fumbling as they figure out what they want to do. It doesn’t feel like something out of a trashy porno; instead, it’s sweet and intimate and it feels so natural to wind up in bed together like this that Ben can’t even connect it with anything he’s watched or read in any late-night internet searches.

In other words, it’s perfect.

Afterwards, they end up with Rey sprawled out between Ben and Rose, the three of them still catching their breath as the reality of this change sinks in. He’s not even aware that he’s asked, “So what now?” until Rey and Rose look at him.

“That was fun,” Rose says. If it weren’t for the way she’s still breathless, the words might sound cold.

Rey is quick to agree. “If either of you needs a booty call, let me know,” she jokes. Well, Ben thinks it’s a joke. Mostly.

“God, same,” Rose sighs. “Ben?”

“You can booty call me anytime.” He pauses, then adds, “Wow. I can’t believe I just said the words ‘booty call’ aloud.”

Rey snorts. “We’ve corrupted him.”

“The offer still stands.”

They’re all silent for a moment. “You two are my best friends,” Rey whispers.

Ben rolls onto his side, facing her. He slings his arm over her waist as he sort of curls around her. “The feeling is mutual,” he mumbles into her neck.

“There’s no contest,” Rose adds, rolling over to mirror Ben’s position. She takes her hand in his and squeezes it gently. “No one else.”

The words could easily be interpreted as platonic, of course. But in the darkness of his bedroom while a storm rages outside, it’s easy to let himself hope that they mean something else, too.

* * *

Rose is surprised at how quickly their new routine involves sex. Movie nights are now an excuse to fool around, and they’ve spent more than a few snowed-in days in bed together. She’s having what is hands-down the best sex of her life with her two best friends as they take full advantage of cuffing season.

And then one day she wakes up wrapped around Rey and Ben and there are birds chirping outside her window and she remembers that cuffing season isn’t a year-round thing.

Normally, Rose loves the springtime. That first day where it’s warm enough to forego a heavy jacket is always a delight, and the sight of daffodils budding up out of the ground never fails to put a smile on her face. But as she, Rey, and Ben walk down the sunny street to their favorite brunch place, she doesn’t want to think about how cuffing season is over.

Rey and Ben are having a very heated conversation about _The Velocipastor_ while Rose lingers a few steps behind, watching them with a heavy heart. She’s suspected for a while that her feelings for her friends aren’t as platonic as she claims, but this is the first time she’s actually had to think about it. How is she ever going to go back to the way things were before they started sleeping together? Is this a normal friend brunch, or is it a date?

God, she hopes it’s a date.

“You’re rather quiet this morning” Rey says while they’re waiting to be seated. “What’s going on?”

“Just hungry,” Rose lies. And then, because she hates lying to them, she adds, “Okay, I’m not just hungry.”

“Should we be concerned?” Ben asks, stepping closer to her. His arm twitches like he’s going to reach out for her, but before he can take her hand, the hostess appears and shows them to their table.

“Honestly?” Rose says when they’re all seated. “I just want to enjoy some good fucking brunch right now.”

Rey and Ben laugh, but it sounds a little strained. Are they also wondering what’s going to happen next?

Somehow she finds the courage to bring it up that afternoon, when they’re lounging around as the snow melts outside. “What happens next?” she asks, watching them from where she’s leaning against the doorway into the kitchen.

Rey is laying on the couch, her legs flung over the arm while her head rests in Ben’s lap as he plays with her hair. “What do you mean, what happens next?” she asks.

Rose takes a deep breath, steeling herself. “With us,” she says. “Cuffing season is over, isn’t it?”

Ben lets go of Rey as she sits up, looking at Rose. “That’s right,” she murmurs, almost as if she’d forgotten. “It’s springtime, isn’t it?”

If Rey has forgotten the initial reason why they’d started this arrangement, that’s good, isn’t it? Rose glances at Ben to see his reaction. He’s never been good at keeping a straight face, but she can’t tell if the longing in his expression is just the result of Rose projecting her own feelings onto him.

Rose took the first step months ago when they suggested they be platonic, non-sexual cuffing season partners. Rey took the next step on New Year’s Eve. Ben, apparently, takes that as his cute to take the final step now. “I don’t want to go back to the way things were before,” he says, examining their expressions for reactions. “Actually, I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to. And I recognize that this means I might need to stop spending time here if you don’t—”

“Don’t,” Rose says, cutting him off. Upon seeing Rey’s and Ben’s surprised expressions, she turns red and adds, “Don’t stop spending time here, I mean, not don’t continue this. The sex is incredible, don’t get me wrong, but I think—” She pauses to take a deep breath, pulling together the courage to finish that thought. “I think my feelings for you both have been a little different from simple friendship.”

That means that Rose and Ben are both in. They both turn to Rey, waiting for her reaction. “I doubt this is a surprise, but I don’t want this to end, either.” She gives them both a wry smile. “If I had known the three of us was an option last fall, I might not have turned to Tinder in the first place. But I’m glad it brought us here.”

“Tell me you don’t still have that cursed app installed,” Ben says, wrapping an arm around Rey’s shoulders to hold her close. Rose takes that as her cue to curl up with them and she doesn’t hesitate to sit on Ben’s lap, pressing a quick kiss to his jaw as Rey takes her hand.

Rey laughs. “Oh god no, it’s long gone. I have all I need right here.”

* * *

_Four months later_

Ben brings it up halfway through brunch. “My lease is up next month,” he says, trying and failing to sound cool and casual.

Rey and Rose exchange a look. They haven’t sat down to discuss this, either, but it was only a matter of time before they had this conversation. Rey opts for a joke, hoping it doesn’t fall flat. “Wait, you have your own apartment?” she says. “I could have sworn you lived with us already.”

Rose snorts and just like that, the tension evaporates. “I didn’t want to make any assumptions,” Ben mutters.

“Ben.” Rose reaches across the table to take his hand. “Rey’s right. You’ve already moved at least half of your stuff into our place.”

Rey’s room is smaller than Rose’s, so it has mostly become a storage place for her stuff and some of Ben’s. It’s rare that they go nights without falling asleep together in Rose’s bed, even though it feels kind of cramped with the three of them. It was fine when the weather was cold, but now that summer’s here, she keeps thinking about stealing Ben’s bed for their apartment so that they have a little more space.

(The only other solution would be going back to sleeping alone, and she knows that none of them want that.)

“You’re serious?” he asks.

“Completely,” Rey says at the same time that Rey says, “Of course.” They laugh, both of them sporting goofy grins.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy as I am when I’m with you two,” Rey confesses. “And I love having both of you around all the time.”

They’re still learning how to explain their relationship to their friends and family—polyamory is still an unknown topic for most of them—but Rey doesn’t think she could hide her love for Rose and Ben even if she wanted to.

“It’s not like you don’t already have a key, anyway,” Rose points out. “Why not make it official? Turn Rey’s room into a guest room and both of you move into my room.”

“ _Our_ room,” Rey corrects her. “Oh, I like the way that sounds.”

Ben’s grinning now, too. “I still think cuffing season sounds like bullshit,” he says, “but I’m glad it led to this.”

**Author's Note:**

> "[Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people](https://gumroad.com/l/KOtZg)"
> 
> i am radioactivesaltghoul on [tumblr](https://radioactivesaltghoul.tumblr.com/) and [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/radioactivesaltghoul) and r_saltghoul on [twitter](https://twitter.com/r_saltghoul).


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